


Recognition

by zeowynda



Category: Dragon Age, Dragon Age: Inquisition
Genre: Fluff and Angst, Gen, Hurt/Comfort, With Cole those two go hand in hand
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-10-05
Updated: 2015-10-05
Packaged: 2018-04-24 20:53:18
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,528
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4934902
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/zeowynda/pseuds/zeowynda
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>"Usually Cole would make some idle comment about the spirits that had left their mark on their surroundings, about her, about Solas, a passing soldier, or their other companions.  Now he was too preoccupied with his own voices to bother with anyone else’s."<br/>Inquisitor Lavellan has seen Cole help so many people.  She decides it's high time that she returns the favor as she helps him ease into his transition of becoming more human.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Recognition

_Pluck pluck pull_

_Fingers twisting, fidgeting and fretting_

Nehnarel Lavellan had a hard time taking her eyes away from the spirit (no, young man) and his hands. They had been moving non stop ever since the party had set up camp for the night, pulling at his wraps and worrying the threads on his sleeves, all the while mumbling under his breath. Usually Cole would make some idle comment about the spirits that had left their mark on their surroundings, about her, about Solas, a passing soldier, or their other companions. Now he was too preoccupied with his own voices to bother with anyone else’s.

Ever since Cole’s little…incident with the amulet, Nehnarel had worried that she had made the wrong decision. And wondered why it was even her decision to make in the first place. Both Varric and Solas had made compelling cases, but it was curious that neither had bothered to ask what Cole wanted. 

But he had said what he wanted, hadn’t he? He didn’t want to hurt people; that was it.

_“I don’t matter.”_

But he did matter. He mattered so much, and it seemed unfair that he gave and gave without anyone ever knowing. Ultimately it was why Nehnarel had sided with Varric. She wanted Cole to understand and learn and grow and be a part of this world that he toiled so tirelessly for.

He had already showed signs of learning from his mistakes, laughing at himself as he discovered them. But when left to his own devices, with no demons to slay or people to help, he focused inward. He needed something of his own, an outlet…

Nehnarel smiled to herself, an idea beginning to take shape in her mind. She grabbed her staff and her pack and crossed the campsite to sit next to Cole. His eyes darted in her direction, but his fingers never ceased their movement.

“Come on, da’len, let’s find something else to keep those busy,” she said, slowly covering his hands with her own. Cole’s hands stilled as he turned to blink at her, confused.

“Just these?” he asked flexing his fingers, “Will the rest of me stay busy too? Does it not need them?” Nehn laughed and shook her head.

“No, the rest of you will keep busy too. Especially this,” she gently tapped his forehead then brushed some of his bangs away from his eyes. “That’s the idea.” 

She had always been better at showing rather than telling, so she turned to pull something out of her pack. Having found it, she lay the top end of her staff across her lap, propping the end on a nearby rock to steady it. She ran her fingers over the carved runes, etchings and designs that she had already added over the years, searching for a blank space. While she was certainly no craftsman, it was a First’s task to build and maintain their own staff. Her tool was an extension of herself, so it only made sense to make her own modifications. Somewhere along the way, she had decided to personalize it even further.

The elf flicked open her whittling knife, carefully creating notches in the wood. After a few minutes, a pattern emerged, a crude but unmistakable silhouette of a rabbit.

She looked up and passed the staff to Cole, inviting him to make a tactile exploration of the designs. His thumb brushed against the All Father’s sun, the All Mother’s moon, the Halla, a flame, a bow, a crow, a wolf, and finally the rabbit, hesitating, fingers shaking with reverence.

“You use the knife to create, not only cut…” he breathed with quiet awe. “The blade sings stories, symbols, signs of significance; it knows more than just the song of endings and blood and death. It’s Life.”

Nehnarel beamed, pleased that he understood. “It can still sing about blood if you’re careless though. Hold it like so.” She showed him her grip and demonstrated the downward strokes before handing him the knife. He held the blade, but made no move to mimic her motions.

“I…can’t. This is your staff, your story - a sliver of soul outside the body. It is you.”

“Then we’ll just have to find another piece, so you can tell your own story.” Nehnarel shifted to find a suitable piece of bark or branch for him to begin practice, but Cole’s hands on her arm stopped her. His eyes were shining and staring right at her, not through her like they usually did.

“Thank you. Nehn, thank you. The voices will be quieter I think.” She smiled, swallowing hard as she squeezed his hand.

“It’s what I’m here for, Cole. I told you friends would help you through this.”

He would be alright.

~*~*~

In the coming weeks, crudely cut wood figurines began to mysteriously appear all over Skyhold. A small horse in the stables, a cat in the kitchens, a mabari in the barracks. The first suspect was, of course, Ser Blackwall but he simply shrugged when the questions arose. It was quite clear that the craftsmanship was not on par with the Grey Warden’s as each figure had notches and nicks, clear signs of inexperience. Granted, the figures usually held meaning for the person that found them, but it was still curious.

Grace paid it no mind, she had linens to wash and gossiping with the other Skyhold servants about rumors and spirits and other magical nonsense wouldn’t get the laundry done any faster. Occasionally she listened in; it was better than thinking of her papa and their home in the Hinterlands that she could never return to.

After the long day, Grace was ready to collapse onto her cot. The exhaustion left her when she reached for the door to her room only to discover it already ajar. She froze, so sure she had firmly latched it this morning. _Best be cautious_ , her papa would say. She shook her head, shoving his voice from her mind. Looking around for a make-shift weapon, her eyes settled on the assorted rubble in the hallway (when were they going to clear the rest of that out, honestly?). She plucked a rock from the pile, clenched it in her fist by her side, she slowly crept into the dimly lit room.

A dark figure was bent over her cot. Grace tensed, raising the rock in her fist.

“I’ve no coppers hidden under the mat so you best clear out if you know what’s good for you!” she threatened with a voice sounding braver than she felt. A young man stepped forward, hands raised in surrender.

“I’m sorry! I wanted to be gone before you left. Can’t forget, can’t hide, can’t undo.” He was dressed in patchy clothes, certainly looked like an urchin or a thief. But his eyes gave Grace pause. They were wide with surprise and terror, and he was shaking with as much fear as she felt. Perhaps more seeing as how she was armed and he wasn’t.

“What’re you on about?” she furrowed her brow, slowly lowering her rock wielding arm. 

“I came to leave you this,” he murmured, lowering his eyes and gesturing to something on her bedside table. Hesitantly, she moved closer, hand outstretched. The boy plucked the item off the table and carefully placed it in her hand. Graced turned it over, and her breath caught in her throat.

It was a small wooden carving of a ram. Just like the ones papa used to herd.

“You want to forget. You want to bury him so deeply that the memory can’t hurt you. But you don’t have to leave the good memories behind in the dust. Days of sunlight, laughing, loving, leaping through the hills alongside the herd and him. You can always carry that with you.”

Grace could not even begin to make sense of how he knew all he did but Andraste’s knickers if it wasn’t exactly what she needed to hear. Blinking back tears, she clutched the ram to her chest and smiled up at the boy.

“Thank you. Bless you ser, you don’t know what this means.”

“I do?” he cocked his head to the side, “It’s why I’m here.”

“Yes. Yes, of course. It just…helps knowing that someone….knowing someone else cares.”

The boy stood straighter at that, no longer looking for all the world that he wanted to turn tail and run. 

“I’m glad it helped,” he said softly and the corner of his lip tugged upward ever so slightly.

~*~*~

“Cole, the wooden duck I found on my bed… was that you?” Dorian asked as the Inquisitor’s party trudged through the muck along the Storm Coast.

“No. I’m not a wooden duck,” Cole said simply. Nehnarel nearly lost her footing, choking on a laugh.

“I mean did you put it there?” the Tevinter persisted.

“Yes? I couldn’t add the little wheels, though. I haven’t learned how to do that yet. I’m sorry.” He glanced back at Nehnarel, a question in his eyes.

The elf winked and nodded. It seemed her da’len was putting his new found skill to good use. And it was time for advanced lessons.

**Author's Note:**

> There is a startling lack of fluffy Inquisitor + Cole fic with a focus on our beloved Fade boy.  I decided to help fill that void.  I wanted my Inquisitor to teach him a skill that allows him to do his Helping in a more concrete way.  Once I settled on carving, that final tweaked Dorian banter just fell into place quite by accident. XD
> 
> Tumblr user [acecasinova](http://acecasinova.tumblr.com) beta'd this for me and helped Cole's dialog sound more...well...more like him.  They are an [amazing](http://acecasinova.tumblr.com/post/130342696709/princessaltair-he-just-had-to-climb-every) [Cole](http://acecasinova.tumblr.com/post/129045671734/goldenhallabackgirl-worked-hard-to-get-a-shot-of) [cosplayer](http://zeowynda.tumblr.com/post/128832187071/actual-facts-cole-cosplayer-acecasinova) and you should check out those links that I so _helpfully_ provided. :D


End file.
